How Much is Auto Insurance for 18 Year Olds in Portland?

For teen drivers, one of the big criteria that are looked at to help calculate auto insurance rates is your address in Portland. Regions with larger populations or more claims likely pay more, whereas areas with less congestion get the luxury of paying less.

The next table sorts the most expensive areas in Oregon for 18 year olds to purchase car insurance in. Portland is ranked #2 with a yearly cost of $1,544 for the average policyholder, which is around $129 per month.

Table data uses approximated as the vehicle garaging location can change premium rates considerably.

The make and model of vehicle requiring insurance is one of the largest factors when looking for cheaper coverage for 18 year olds. Vehicles with limited top-end speed, advanced safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost much less to insure than adrenaline junky models.

The list below estimates car insurance prices for the more affordable vehicles to insure in Oregon.

Data rating is based on single male driver age 18, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Oregon minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Premium amounts do not factor in specific garaging location which can modify coverage rates significantly.

Based on these rates, models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, and Dodge Grand Caravan are some of the most affordable vehicles to insure for teen drivers. Rates will be more costly because there is a higher risk for 18 year olds, but in general those particular models will most likely have the best insurance prices compared to other types of vehicles.

Discounts on Portland car insurance

Car insurance companies that offer cheap quotes for 18 year olds may also provide rate discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 30% if you are eligible. Companies and a partial list of their discounts are shown below.

• GEICO offers premium reductions for anti-theft, military active duty, multi-policy, five-year accident-free, daytime running lights, and multi-vehicle.
• Travelers offers discounts for continuous insurance, early quote, IntelliDrive, good student, home ownership, and save driver.
• Nationwide may offer discounts for Farm Bureau membership, good student, defensive driving, family plan, anti-theft, and business or organization.
• Farmers Insurance includes discounts for mature driver, distant student, switch companies, early shopping, youthful driver, teen driver, and pay in full.
• Esurance policyholders can earn discounts including renters, multi-policy, DriveSense, Switch & Save, online shopper, and claim free.
• State Farm offers discounts including driver’s education, Drive Safe & Save, good student, passive restraint, and student away at school.
• Progressive has discounts for online signing, homeowner, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, and online quote discount.
• Mercury Insurance may include discounts for good driver, annual mileage, professional/association, ease of repair, and multi-policy.

The chart below shows the difference between premium costs with and without discounts applied to the premium. The rates are based on a female driver, no claims or driving citations, Oregon state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $250 deductibles.

The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with paid-in-full, passive restraint, anti-theft, vehicle safety, paperless filing, and continuous coverage discounts applied. In this example, the average amount saved each year on car insurance for 18 year olds is 28% or $721.

Should you buy full coverage?

Finding cheaper car insurance is probably important to the majority of drivers, and one of the fastest ways to buy cheap insurance for 18 year olds is to only buy liability coverage. The chart below shows the comparison of insurance rates with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The data assumes no claims or driving violations, $1,000 deductibles, single status, and no other discounts are factored in.

If we average all the age groups together, full coverage costs an extra $1,455 per year more than carrying just liability coverage. That is a large expense which might make you wonder if paying for full coverage is a waste of money. There is no definitive formula to stop buying physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than around 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it might be time to buy liability only.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s replacement value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most you would get paid by your company is $3,000 after paying your deductible. If you are paying more than $300 a year for your policy with full coverage, then it could be time to drop full coverage.

Oregon car insurance company ratings

Picking a good quality car insurance company can be challenging considering how many companies sell coverage in Oregon. The company ratings listed below may help you select which insurers to look at when comparing insurance rates for 18 year olds. The rankings below only include major nationwide insurance companies, so companies without a large exposure are not factored into this list.

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Providers in Portland Ranked by Customer Satisfaction

1. USAA – 94%
2. AAA Insurance – 91%
3. Nationwide – 90%
4. State Farm – 90%
5. GEICO – 89%
6. The Hartford – 89%
7. The General – 88%
8. 21st Century – 88%
9. Allstate – 88%
10. Liberty Mutual – 88%

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Providers in Portland Ranked by Customer Service

1. GEICO
2. State Farm
3. The Hartford
4. The General
5. Progressive
6. Allstate
7. AAA Insurance
8. American Family
9. Nationwide
10. Liberty Mutual

The importance of comparing Portland car insurance rates

Oregon car insurance rates are influenced by many factors which can substantially change the price you pay. Turning one year older, increasing deductibles, or getting a reckless driving citation may cause policy rate changes that can cause some rates to be more affordable than before. Not only that, but companies modify rates at least once a year in order to maintain liquidity for claims. An extended period of higher than normal claims can result in additional price hikes, while profitable underwriting can produce cheaper Portland car insurance rates.

For example, the graph below compares the cheapest car insurance in Portland, OR for a 40-year-old female driver with no prior claims, no tickets, and good credit. When comparing rates based on her personal risk profile, Grange has the best car insurance rates in Portland at $927 a year. This is $551 less than the average rate paid by Oregon drivers of $1,478. Country, Oregon Mutual, Travelers, and USAA round out the rest of the cheapest Portland, OR auto insurance companies.

The chart below compares rates after we give the driver in the first example a chargeable claim, bad credit, and a blemish on her driving record. Due to the fact that every auto insurer has their own guidelines for determining prices, comparing insurance quotes may now result in a completely different list of affordable Portland car insurance companies as shown below.

Amica now has the cheapest price in Portland, OR with GEICO, Oregon Mutual, Allied, and Mutual Enumclaw completing the list. This demonstrates why it is critical to compare rates when trying to get affordable car insurance rates for 18 year olds.

Insurance prices can be altered by many things and change dramatically, so the cheapest rate two years ago may now be costing you a lot of money.